Ma wins leadership vote count in Taiwan
23/3/2008 11:24
Ma Ying-jeou, representing Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT), won the island's
leadership election last night.
Ma, former KMT party chairman, and
Vincent Siew, received 7.6587 million votes, or 58.45 percent of the total.
Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and his running mate Su
Tseng-chang received 5.4452 million ballots, or 41.55 percent.
Taiwan
residents began voting in the poll at 8am and ballots closed at 4pm. About 17.3
million people voted at 14,401 polling stations.
In January, the KMT won
81 of the 113 seats in Taiwan's "legislature" elections, scoring a landslide
victory over the DPP, with 27 seats.
Taiwan voters yesterday also vetoed
the "United Nations membership referendum" pursued by the Chen Shui-bian
administration.
Only 35.8 percent, or less than half of voters in Taiwan,
cast ballots yesterday for the "UN referendum" under the name "Taiwan," proposed
by the DPP. The percentage turnout was only 35.7 for another rejected
"referendum," proposed by the KMT, on whether the island should "return to the
global body under any name."
"Referendum" voting was held simultaneously
with the leadership poll.
Xinhua
|
